This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
REAL estate private equity group Wentworth Capital has acquired the University of Sydney’s Medical Foundation building and is set to develop a $500 million life sciences campus facility.
Having entered into an agreement to acquire the building on a 99-year lease, Wentworth Capital’s proposed Biomed, Science and Innovation Campus will comprise up to 30,000sqm of floor space and include a wide range of uses across the life science sector.
Additionally, the proposed campus will incorporate the various buildings with new pedestrian paths and retail facilities.
The site is located adjacent to the University of Sydney campus in Camperdown and is set to complement the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator (SBA), which is a partnership between the University, the Sydney Local Health District and the NSW Government, in collaboration with the Centenary Institute.
“We have strong conviction in the life sciences sector and have been working with the University for over two and a half years to bring this exciting project to fruition,” said Alastair Nash, CEO at Wentworth Capital.
“We identified early on that Australia’s Science and Innovation community needed purpose-built infrastructure and the logic was to create a campus directly opposite one of Australia’s best universities and hospitals.”
The Denton Corker Marshall + HDR-designed SBA will become home to over 1200 biomedical researchers and clinician scientists, including over 800 University of Sydney laboratory researchers and PhD students, over 300 clinical researchers from Sydney Local Health District, and 100 industry researchers upon its completion in 2027.
“The scale of the site has allowed the design team to incorporate space for small start-ups as well as large private sector companies creating a campus environment that promotes collaboration and idea sharing which is so powerful in this sector,” added Nash.
“This investment is consistent with the opportunities that Wentworth Capital identifies for its investors, and we are excited to progress the design and planning over the coming year.”
Wentworth Capital’s campus will provide space for leading private sector companies, scaleups and startups to co- locate and benefit from direct access to the SBA.
“The discoveries of the future will happen at the junction of where universities, industry and government connect, and it is exciting to see industry invest significant resources and capital into our vision for Sydney as a global leader in biomedical and science research, development and commercialisation,” said Emma Johnston, deputy vice-chancellor of research at the University of Sydney.
“This collaboration creates outstanding opportunities for research and exchange between hospital, university, and enterprise, and we expect will deliver great research, community, and economic outcomes.”
